The present invention relates to a structure for causing a base connector to interlock with a socket connector having wire ends secured thereto, wherein the base connector is surface mounted on a printed circuit board.
Examples of such a locking structure have been known in the art as disclosed in the specifications and drawings of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,008,941 and 4,376,565. In each of those prior art structures, a socket housing has lock arms respectively disposed on its lateral sides. Each lock arm has at its distal end a hook capable of engaging with the corresponding one of detents that protrude from lateral sides of a base housing. Those lock arms further comprise certain push portions that will be pressed to release the hooks off the detents so as to break the interlocking relationship between said connectors.
It is however noted that those detents protruding sideways from the lateral sides of the base housing have inevitably caused an undesirably large overall size. Thus, it has considerably been difficult to render more compacted the couple of such connectors.
The present invention was made in view of these prior art structures, and its object is to provide a structure for interlocking connectors such that they can be made smaller in size, can engage one with another more reliably and can be manufactured less expensively. In particular, this structure provided herein must be adapted for employment in the shortish types of high-voltage connectors each having a reduced height.
In order to achieve the object, the present invention provides a structure for interlocking connectors, one of them being a socket connector that has a flat socket housing in which disposed side by side are socket contacts secured on respective wire ends. The other connector is a base connector of a shape to be surface mounted on a printed circuit board and comprising a flat box-shaped base housing for engagement with the socket housing, the base housing having a rear edge, similarly to the structure of this kind known in the art. Also similarly to the prior art, the socket housing in the invention has a pair of lock arms extending forwards from a rear end of the socket housing, and along lateral sides thereof. Tie pieces capable of elastic deformation and formed integral with the lateral sides of the socket housing do support and operatively connect the lock arms to said lateral sides. However, it is a characteristic feature of the present invention that the lock arms have their fore ends respectively formed integral with hooks projecting inwards and towards each other. Push lugs integrally extend back-wards from rear ends of the lock arms so as to be located rearwardly of the tie pieces. When engaging the connectors one with the other, the lock arms of the socket housing will be guided forwards along respective sides of the base housing until latched firmly in place by and with the rear edge thereof.
In a case wherein the interlocking structure is applied to a high-voltage connector assembly, each lock arm preferably has a fore extension protruding rearwardly of the rear edge of the base housing. Such fore extensions will protect sides of an array of leads that extend from respective pin contacts and project beyond said rear edge of the base housing. This structural feature will increase the linear distance between each pin contact and any electronic device located adjacent thereto, particularly between the pin contact""s lead and said device, so as to improve the connector assembly in its resistance to high voltages. Preferably, each lock arm having and including such an integral fore extension is generally of the same height as the base housing.
Also preferably, the lock arms of the socket housing respectively have rear extensions formed integral therewith. These extensions may project beyond a rear edge of the socket housing, such that these rear extensions having the push lugs formed integral therewith will also serve to protect sides of a group of the wire ends secured to and protruding from socket connector. Such elongated lock arms will make it easier to open or close the lock arms relative to the base housing.